I started writing this post at halftime, so certain was I that the Vikings had no chance of coming back in this one and that they were about to suffer their third horrendous defeat in a row on the road.
So here were some basic questions I felt Brad Childress and his staff needed to quickly answer as Minnesota trotted into the visitor’s locker room down 16-0 against the 5-9 Chicago Bears.
* Can anyone on this team tackle anymore? Jay Cutler bowling over Madieu Williams pretty much sums up the Vikings defensive tackling the past four weeks.
* What has happened to the pass rush? Kurt Warner, Matt Moore and Jay Cutler have not faced much duress in the pocket when facing the Vikings defence this month. If the Vikings front four can’t harass the quarterback, this unit gets torched, particularly on the road.
* Can anyone on the Vikings defence intercept a pass? On the second play of the game, Cutler throws a pass right into Ben Leber’s chest plate. It’s a bullet and Leber’s a linebacker, so we shouldn’t expect too much, but if Leber makes that makeable play, the Vikings get the ball deep in Bears territory and maybe it’s a different first half. Nobody on this defence has even what I’d consider decent ball skills. It's one reason why this unit struggles to create turnovers.
* Why can’t the Vikings find a way to get the ball to Percy Harvin lately?
* Where has the Vikings third down prowess gone? The past two weeks it seems the Vikings have gone one-for-whatever on third downs after being one of the top teams in the league most of the season in this important stat.
* Can Brett Favre play well outdoors in cold weather anymore? We’ve all seen the stats and Favre will have to play well if the Vikings have any chance of winning a game on the road against, say, Philadelphia. So far in this game, he isn’t disproving the "Favre-can’t-play-in-cold-weather" theory.
Obviously, things changed quite a bit in the second half of this game. But forget for a minute the comeback. Forget Favre’s fine play in the second half. Forget Sidney Rice’s great touchdown catch and the fact that if Adrian Peterson just steps out of bounds instead of deciding to fight for a couple of needless yards on that overtime screen pass, the Vikings probably win this one.
Instead, think about whether you really believe this Vikings team can beat a quality opponent on the road – in the playoffs – when two weeks in a row it hasn’t been able to beat non-quality opponents on the road.
And also remember that most of the questions I had heading into the second half were not answered in a positive way by the Vikings even with the gritty comeback effort.
Regardless of how the Vikings fare against the New York Giants next Sunday, we know the Vikings will play at least one home playoff game and I’m confident they will win that game, at which time some observers will be duped into thinking the Vikings are Super Bowl contenders again.
But on the road – outdoors and probably even indoors – this Vikings team is too shaky on the offensive line, too shaky in pass coverage and probably too shaky in the coaching department, to win a game or two away from the Metrodome, which it looks like it will have to do to reach the Super Bowl.
Sure, we can hope it will happen and we will certainly cheer hard for it to happen. But really, in our Viking fan heart of hearts, after what we saw tonight at Soldier Field against a bad Chicago Bears team, we surely must know now it isn’t going to happen.
So don't be duped in the next couple of weeks.
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2 comments:
DC! Merry belated Christmas and welcome back (even if temporarily) and how's the job going and all that stuff.
I almost gave up on the game when the Bears scored to make it 23-6. A few minutes later, I was glad I hadn't. A few minutes after that, I wished I had just gone to bed when I was first tempted.
I've been alternating what Vikings gear I wear, whether or not to light the Vikings candle, what beer to stay away from (sadly, I'll be avoiding Guinness next Sunday afternoon), etc. in an effort to find a winning combination of luck charms. Haven't found it yet. I'm glad you're blogging, though. Despite last night's ugly loss, the team still has a much better record when you're writing.
I hate the Cowboys, and now the Vikings are making me pull for them next week. I suppose I could enjoy a 250 yard game by the former Gopher Marion Barber.
Madieu Williams is streaky with his tackling. Sometimes I'll see him make 2-3 nice open field tackles in one series. Other times he whiffs on a pouty-faced, diabtetic QB.
The pass rush is downright confusing. Why can't they get pressure? Is it the lack of EJ? Was it a sidelined Pat Williams last night? Jimmy Kennedy has been much better than I was expecting so far this year, but he's still no Pat. Kevin Williams looked like he wasn't trying last night. I like when Robison/Allen/Edwards/K.Williams are the line on passing downs, but I didn't see near enough pressure last night. I think opponents have figured out they can deploy 6-7 man o-lines and still get separation downfield because the safeties are mediocre, Winfield's not 100%, Leber's slowing down, and Brinkley is prone to the occasional rookie mistake. (Although, I did see one gorgeous tackle by Brinkley late in the game. It reminded me of his college highlights.)
The best intercepters on the team are Griffin and Greenway, and they're not great. Griffin errs on the side of knocking a pass away, and I don't see a lot of passes get near Greenway. I don't notice Greenway much at all; I think he's by far the best LB on the team with Henderson out. And hey, by the way, why isn't Farwell sharing time with Brinkley at MLB?
Playcall complaint: the Vikings nearly always run on 2nd & short and nearly always pass on 2nd & long. If it's that obvious to me, then the defensive coordinator on the otherside of the field knows what's coming. Besides, a decent run on 2nd & long usually sets up 3rd & manageable, whereas an incomplete (or short pass for no gain, both of which happen all too often) results in 3rd & long. Don't need more of those.
If the Vikings can take control of games early, they can beat anybody. I'm not expecting them to make much noise in the playoffs, but I'll be cheering loud enough to cause the neighbors concern. I desperately want the Cowboys to win next week (and, of course, for the Vikings to gain some confidence in hopefully pounding the Giants) so that Minnesota gets its bye and hosts Cardinals/Packers/Cowyboys/Eagles before either hosting the championship or traveling to New Orleans. Playing in the Superdome isn't as scary as it sounded a few weeks ago. Traveling to Philadelphia, however, will turn this fan's attention to next year's draft. If Minnesota gets to host, say, Arizona and then travel to NO, they've got a respectable shot at making the Superbowl. But I won't hold my breath.
Peter:
Thanks for stopping by. There is lots to mull over after last night's performance. I certainly wasn't surprised to see the Bears beat the Vikings at Soldier Field. The Vikes are now 2-8 there this decade.
I think Brinkley is emerging as a bit of a scapegoat for the Vikings defensive failings lately. He's only playing on first and second downs, so when teams complete big third down plays on us, it's not him on the field being exposed.
I'm not saying he's as good as Henderson, but the problems we're seeing now with the Vikings D are the same things I was seeing even when Henderson playing. It's maybe gotten a bit worse the past two weeks with Brinkley in there, but the problems are unit wide and not just the result of missing Henderson.
You're probably correct that a trip to the Superdome isn't as scary as it was four weeks ago. But I don't see how the Vikings defence can stop the Saints enough to give us a chance to win that one. I think a playoff game against those two teams is now going to be a Vikings vs. Rams in 1999 result.
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